ELT lesson ideas for higher level learners. Ever since I read the book Factfulness – Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think, I have found ways to incorporate elements of it into lessons. It’s a fascinating and highly insightful read. The book begins with a Global … More Is the world getting better?
Traditional coursebooks don’t work well for online teaching without tweaks. I know that some online teachers simply share their screen and show pages from coursebooks, but that’s something I almost never do, for the following reasons: ~ I like to have control over when learners view activities, rather than have them see an entire page … More Adding Diversity by Adapting Coursebook Material
I’ve now been teaching and training online solidly for nine months, and have spent hundreds of hours planning and delivering lessons on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Blackboard Collaborate. I love developing materials, and coming up with (hopefully) engaging activities. Here, I’ll share snapshots from sessions I’ve taught, with a brief explanation for each. CPE lesson … More Snapshots from online lessons
I’ve read a lot about Jamboard, but only recently got around to using it with students and trainee teachers. I’m very much someone who learns by doing, rather than reading. With that in mind, I’ve created an experimental Jamboard with five “frames” (slides) so others can have a play with it. Please go to the … More An Experimental Google Jamboard for Teaching English
I’ve spent hundreds of hours this year delivering classes on Zoom, Blackboard, and Teams. My largest group has been 60, and I also teach individual students. I’m going to be sharing a few tips that have worked for me in a series of posts. Use a Starter Screen Online lessons, just like in person classes, … More Starter Screens for Online Classes
Imagine you had to isolate in a bungalow with one of your students for a month. What would you need to survive, entertain yourselves, stay fit, and keep learning? This is an activity I used recently with two higher level learners. I’m happy to say that my French student conformed to stereotype and decided that … More Isolation Planning – a lesson to review quantifiers
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It’s always nice to start the first lesson of the week with a bit of reflection on the weekend. However, if this consists of the teacher asking “what did you do at the weekend”, the answer in my experience tended to be “nothing” or “sleep” (the joy of working with teenage learners), and the opportunity … More Monday lesson ideas: Weekend Reflections
I’ve been very busy so far this summer, teaching full time at a university in the UK, trying to complete my Delta module three assignment, applying for Master’s programmes and coordinating upcoming freelance work. It’s been great to be back in the classroom as a full time teacher of groups again after a few years … More A look around my classroom
This is a lesson I used as a last minute lesson with an upper intermediate group recently. It’s materials and preparation light, and relies on student input. I used it with a monolingual group of students from Saudi Arabia studying in the UK, so they were able to compare and contrast their own culture with … More Talking about cultural differences – a materials light, communicative lesson for higher level learners
